Problematic mental health-related advice: exploring the role and limitations of EU's digital toolbox on the case of #TherapyTok

Social media platforms are increasingly becoming resources for mental health advice and validation. This might contribute to awareness-raising and promoting healthy behaviors, but it also raises concerns due to proliferation of misinformation and unproven claims. The brief assesses EU's frameworks that aim to ensure online environments are safe, including the DSA, the announced DFA, and other consumer protection regimes. Applying the public health prevention framework by Ishizumi et al., the brief argues for a public health-informed approach to counter the identified #TherapyTok concerns. For example, EU digital governance frameworks like the DSA should explicitly include public health evaluation criteria in enforcement. The brief offers further EU policy recommendations, proposing more decisive action might be needed especially in upstream prevention.